We recently held a Microsoft Dynamics GP User Group Meeting in St. Louis, MO. Our feature speakers were the owners from Reporting-Central. One of their products that caught my attention was “The Validator”. This product helps Dynamics GP users eliminate manual validation and reconciliation processes to make Microsoft Dynamics GP a better business solution by continuously monitoring critical areas of their solution. Also, another major takeaway that I think many current users of Microsoft Dynamics GP would find very interesting are the most commonly overlooked Set-Up and On-Going Use issues in Dynamics GP. Here is a small list that Reporting-Central shared with us.

User Security Set To POWERUSER

Future Fiscal Periods Open

Maximum Account Length set too low

Posting Not Set To Create Journal Entry Per Transaction

Dex Lock

Interrupted Batch

Stuck Process

Account Maintenance Allows Account Entry on Control Account

Account Posting Level Set To Summary

Maintain Account History Not Checked

Retained Earnings Category Not Set to 27

Checkbook Allows Duplicate Check Numbers

Customer Accounts Receivable Control Account empty

Maintenance Customer Missing Salesperson

Maintenance Customer Missing Tax Schedule

Vendor 1099 Box Checked With No Tax Id

Old Open Purchase Orders

These are just a small sample of the issues that Reporting-Central’s software can monitor and alert Microsoft Dynamics GP users. If you have additional questions or would like to learn more about how “The Validator” could help your Microsoft Dynamics GP investment, please give me a call today at 636-237-2280 or send me an email at mramatowski@turnkeytec.com .

For a high level estimate of your investment in Microsoft Dynamics GP, please use our “FREE” Microsoft Dynamics GP Quick Quote Tool. It will give you a great starting point for assessing your potential investment in a solution like this.

“The superior man is modest in his speech, but excels in his actions.” – Confucius

Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help any sales organization improve results by better managing their sales funnel. I’m going to call the top of this sales funnel “Leads”. Every organization depends on a steady source of leads to generate sales for their business. What if you could improve your current “New Lead” tracking processes and expedite the sales process? What would that be worth to your company?

Here are a few screen shots of Microsoft Dynamics CRM New Lead Form:

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is highly customizable to your organization’s specific business processes and requirements. Please review the fields in these two screen shots because I’m going to give you three key tip for improving your “New Lead” tracking processes; which will result in better sales and marketing results in the following sections:

General Section: Please make sure the “Topic” is a required field to be filled out. This will make it easier for everyone in the organization to scan and sort all of their leads faster and have greater visibility of the type of leads coming in. It really helps to have a very specific categories for labeling leads in your organization as well.

Details Section: Always keep track of a lead’s origin by specifying a “Lead Source”. This will help you better plan your next sales and marketing activities because you will know where to focus your resources. Also, this drop-down window can be populated with the most common lead sources for your organization to save time for everyone entering this information.

Preferences Section: “Source Campaign” needs to be filled out for every new lead that enters the sales funnel. This information will help you better track where you should be spending your future marketing and sales dollars because you will know which campaigns are producing the best results.

These are just three of my key tips for improving your “New Lead” tracking processes. If you have additional questions or would like to learn more about what Microsoft Dynamics CRM can do for your organization, please contact us today to setup a “Free Discovery Call”. Call 636-237-2280 or email me at mramatowski@turnkeytec.com .

For a high level estimate of your investment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, please use our “FREE” Microsoft Dynamics CRM Quick Quote Tool”. This tool gives you a great starting point for assessing your potential investment in a World Class CRM Business Solution.

“Mediocre men wait for opportunity to come to them. Strong, able, alert men go after opportunity.” B.C. Forbes

Debates over online sales tax, and related statutory rules and rate changes have vaulted sales and use tax compliance to the top of every savvy businessperson’s 2013 action list. Understanding how to implement safeguards and systems, monitor widely varying statutory rules, and find efficient ways to collect and remit the right sales and use tax to the right jurisdiction at the right time, can flummox even the most compliance-minded businessperson.

The following five sales tax compliance tips identify steps your business can take to address 2013’s particular challenges. Developed by Avalara sales tax experts, these are a starting point, rather than an exhaustive strategy, for addressing sales and use tax compliance in 2013.

Tip #1 — Determine tax liability by analyzing changes to nexus rules

While most businesses have some concept of nexus—the connection between a business and a taxing jurisdiction requiring sales tax collection and remittance — many are unaware of dramatic changes to nexus laws happening now. There are numerous developments on the federal level, but this tip focuses on state level changes that are currently underway. These rule changes significantly impact out-of-state remote sellers (such as online retailers), but all businesses should watch nexus laws closely.

Tip #2 —Stop ignoring consumer use tax

Use tax is defined as a tax on the use of tangible personal property (TPP) not otherwise subject to sales tax. Generally speaking, a purchaser owes use tax on taxable items purchased on which they paid no sales tax or less tax than the applicable sales tax rate. Unlike sales tax, the remittance responsibility lies with the buyer (either a business or an individual). In some cases, the purchaser would be a business, such as a manufacturer or a distributor, buying goods outside the state or online, to use, or consume as TPP. Use tax must also be paid when a business withdraws goods from inventory for its own use, if sales tax was not paid on those items at the time of purchase. It is the responsibility of a business to self-assess when, and if, use tax is accrued and to pay the state and/or local tax authority on a tax return.

Tip #3 — Understand changing exemption certificate rules

Tracking and filing exemption certificates, the bugaboo of many a well-intentioned business owners, has just gotten more complicated. In 2013, several governors have already proposed plans that would change what their states exempt from sales tax.

Tip #4 —Know when, where, and how to remit sales and use tax returns

Even companies that work hard to accurately track and update changes in sales and use tax rules, boundaries, and rate changes often fail to remit their liability correctly. Knowing which form to use, where to file, and what to include in your returns, can be an onerous task.

Tip #5 —Get Help

Companies trying to accurately collect, file, and report sales and use taxes face an uphill battle in 2013.

Please join us on April 17th for a free educational webinar hosted by Avalara, on “Sales Tax Automation and How to Take the Lead in All 50 States”, including how to grow into new markets and stay compliant. This thought leadership webinar will be presented by industry leading experts from WithumSmith + Brown. They will share the critical steps to growth and what you need to know when looking to go forward with a new state.

For a high level estimate of your investment in Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013, please use our “FREE” Microsoft Dynamics GP Quick Quote Tool. It will give you a great starting point for assessing your potential investment in a project like this.

If you have additional questions or would like to learn more about what Microsoft Dynamics GP 2013 can do for your organization, please contact us today to setup a “Free Discovery Call” at 636-237-2280 or email at sales@turnkeytec.com .